A stanchion is a sturdy upright post that provides support for belt, rope, chain or cord that is often used for crowd control or engineering the flow of people. A stanchion system utilizes the upright post which may include a rope support at the top of the post; or, alternatively, it may include a retractable belt. The ropes, chains or retractable belts may be linked together at the stanchions to form a crowd control or crowd flow system. These crowd flow systems are called a queue or a maze. The stanchions are often not intended to be a permanent fixture, so that the post may be expediently implemented or removed, as desired. The stanchion and rope system are typically implemented to form a queue or maze for people to move through.
Typically, the post of a stanchion is typically mounted on a weighted base. There are several problems with a post that is mounted on a weighted base. First, the base often protrudes into the area of the queue or maze in which people walk—often times causing people to trip on the base. Second, the weighted base is movable. If bumped, the base along with the ropes or belts will move causing the queue to become misaligned. Movement of the post interferes with the movement of traffic through the queue. Third, the base takes up valuable floor space and often interferes with movement of carts or language through the queue. The standard base for a stanchion post has a footprint of almost one square foot which is not desirable in space-constrained areas. When several stanchions are employed, the amount of floor space dedicated to the numerous bases becomes quite significant. Fourth, the base is not aesthetically pleasing and may be considered unacceptable given the aesthetic desire of customers. The design of the weighed bases may not be preferred by the owner of the venue implementing the queue. Fifth, the post, along with the base, may be knocked over because the base is not securely mounted to the floor. Finally, since the base and post are not secured to the floor, the base and post may be picked up by a patron and used as a weapon. This is undesirable in any public forum. A typical prior art weighted base stanchion is shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b).
Alternatively, the post of the stanchion may be easily removably mounted into the floor of the facility implementing the queue or maze. The floor mounted posts are commonly implemented in applications where the flow of traffic is steady or constant or where portability of the stanchions becomes impractical. The floor mounted solution is not without its own set of problems. For example, the stanchion posts must be mounted into holes in the floor of the venue which are either pre-formed or drilled into the floor after construction. The floor mounted system is not flexible or moveable. The posts can only be positioned within the pre-formed holes within a venue. Worse, the hole depth must be 6 inches or more in order to accommodate the post; and the diameter of the hole is typically 2 to 3 inches or more. The posts are also easily removable and can be used as a weapon by a customer standing in the queue. Finally, in the floor mounted system, the posts are not flexible. The post does not absorb any impact should a person run into a post, or if a piece of luggage or cart is run into a post. Another problem with the easily removeable stanchion post is that when the post is removed, there is a 3 inch diameter by 6 inch deep hole left in the floor.
What is desired, therefore, is a post which may be semi-permanently mounted within the floor of a venue without having to install the standard 3 inch by 6 inch hole deep into the floor. There is also a need for a flexible mounting system between the post and the floor which permits the post to absorb impact to the post. It is, thus, desirable to have a semi-permanent post that has minimal impact on the existing flooring of a venue. Providing a post that is easy to install and that has the ability to flex once installed into the floor is highly desirable.